pastiche

/pæsˈtiːʃ/

//pæsˈtiːʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pastiche" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pastiche” is uncommon English (frequency #51,905 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,905
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist, usually in a positive or neutral way.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pastiche · pastiche · English

pastiche · rank #51,905 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,905
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pater

Nearest frequency peer: pater (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “pastiche”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “pastiche” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pastiche
PropertyValue
Headwordpastiche
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pæsˈtiːʃ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#51,905
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pastiche” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pastichefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “pater” (#51,906), “Pawtucket” (#51,907), “papillon” (#51,902). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pastiche” is #51,905. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pastiche is uncommon English at frequency #51,905 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pæsˈtiːʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for pastiche in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Via French pastiche, from Italian pasticcio (“pie, something blended”), from Vulgar Latin *pastīcius, from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), from παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”). Doub… The correct English form is pastiche, spelled P-A-S-T-I-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist, usually in a positive or neutral way.
  2. 2
    A musical medley, typically quoting other works.
  3. 3
    An incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge.
  4. 4
    A postmodern playwriting technique that fuses a variety of styles, genres, and story lines to create a new form.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pastiche appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He argued that the failure of the future was constitutive of a postmodern cultural scene which, as he correctly prophesied, would become dominated by pastiche and revivalism.
  2. This supposed research paper is a pastiche of passages from unrelated sources.

Etymology

Via French pastiche, from Italian pasticcio (“pie, something blended”), from Vulgar Latin *pastīcius, from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), from παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”). Doublet of pasticcio.

This word in other languages

pastiche(Español)pastiche(Français)Pastiche(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pastiche"?
"pastiche" is spelled P-A-S-T-I-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pæsˈtiːʃ/.
What does "pastiche" mean?
As a noun, "pastiche" means: A work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist, usually in a positive or neutral way.
How do you pronounce "pastiche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pastiche" is /pæsˈtiːʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pastiche"?
Via French pastiche, from Italian pasticcio (“pie, something blended”), from Vulgar Latin *pastīcius, from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), from παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with sa... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pastiche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

papillon#51,902optioned#51,890oliphant#51,886principe#51,927

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list